2020 Annual Report: Regaining the Momentum
July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020
Friends,
I am pleased to present to you the annual report of our parish for the fiscal year ending in June. Each year, we publish an annual report as a barometer of our vitality as a parish.
This year, I’m entitling our report: Regaining the Momentum. As we celebrate our 50 years as a parish this year, we are remembering the incredible legacy which laid such a strong foundation of ministry here.
Leading up to the COVID shutdown in March, our parish was continuing to grow in both student and permanent community engagement. I mentioned in a homily this summer that for a brief time during the pandemic I was having a “pity party” because COVID seemed to have halted our momentum. I’m confident, though, we can regain that momentum in the months and years to come.
Even with the shutdown in March, April, and May, our operating income increased 3% this past year. You have been incredibly generous before the pandemic and have stepped up in an incredible way during this challenging time.
With increased programming and continued maintenance and improvement of our building comes extra spending. While our operating expenses were higher than the prior year, they are lower than our operating income. Thus, for the second year in a row, our operating income has outpaced operating expenses.
Our expenses were slightly below budget and our income surpassed our budget estimate.
We are blessed at our parish to have endowment funds that have been generously supported and wisely invested over the years. These investment funds include the Christian Leadership Program, Lura Lovell Fund for Building & Maintenance, Stephen Lovell Library Fund, Newman Scholarship Fund and the Parish Long Term Fund. Fortunately, over the last two years, we have not needed to pull from most of these accounts due to our good financial situation. However, due to the stock market fluctuations, our invested funds showed a loss. Since this loss was greater than our surplus in operations, we had a net loss for the year in our bottom line numbers.
Our parish remains strong even in spite of the setbacks due to COVID (see parish statistics at bottom of page). As we celebrate our 50th anniversary as a parish in the midst of a pandemic, I’m hopeful that we can regain the momentum that has been part of this parish since its founding. It would be reasonable to expect a difficult financial year given our limited in person Mass attendance and the challenging financial position that so many people find themselves in. I will keep you updated about our financial situation as the year progresses.
I want to thank Deacon Bob Fedynich and our wonderful Finance Council for all their work on behalf of our parish in this past year. The council members are: Mike Pniewski (Chair), Sandy Luetke (Vice-Chair), Patty O’Toole (Secretary), Ed Ciecka, Dick Torchia, Rachel Fitzpatrick (since left council), Steve Brookover, Joe Sweeney, and Jamie Monagan. Non-voting members include myself, Pam Meseroll (facilities representative), and Deacon Bob Fedynich.
When COVID settles down, let’s regain the momentum that makes CCUP feel like home for students and permanent community alike.
Fr. Jeremy